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Nuggets of Wisdom

Friday, February 27, 2015

Live Long And Prosper, Mr. Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy has passed away at the age of 83. He was most famous for his role as Mr. Spock on Star Trek. I’m not a Trekkie, so I cannot properly remember him as Mr. Spock. However, I can remember him for the many other minor acting roles he had.

He may have played the voice of reason on Star Trek, but his voice also leant him to being the voice of evil, from the sinister Mr. Moundshroud from The Halloween Tree, to the schemingly-clever Master Xehanort from Kingdom Hearts. He also had many other minor roles in recent films such as Transformers and the new Star Trek films.

Here are a few of the more memorable roles that I remember him by:

In the 1993 special, the Halloween Tree, he played the role of the antagonist, Mr. Moundshroud. He did an exceptional job of making the character sound just as creepy as his apperance. Even more interesting was how the animated special itself was narrated by Ray Bradbury, the author of the book this special was based on. How eerie was it to have two of the biggest legends in science fiction, both a writer and an actor, lending their voices together to provide such a haunting performance? But this would not be the last time Mr. Nimoy would team up with a notable sci-fi figure.

In the Kingdom Hearts games, he voiced the main antagonist, Master Xehanort. It seems only fitting that an actor famous for playing a man of great knowledge would lend his voice to another greatly knowledgeable gentleman, albeit one who uses his knowledge for evil rather than the greater good. There’s just something about his voice that makes him ideal for such a conniving villain. Even more ideal was how he was paired opposite to the character of Master Eruaqs, who was voiced by Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. This is probably the only time we would have characters from the two rivaling Star series facing off against each other!

In the cult-Disney classic, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, he played the role of the Atlantean King, Kashekim Nedakh, father of the female protagonist (and forgotten kick-ass Disney princess) Kida. Again, it seems only fitting that a sci-fi actor known for playing a character of great wisdom would star in a sci-fi movie as the role of a wise elder—though I doubt you could call the king of Atlantis “wise”, considering he was the reason why his Empire became lost underneath the sea in the first place.

Finally, one obscure role I want to mention was how he was the narrator for In Search Of, a PBS paranormal investigation series that covered many famous legends and conspiracy theories such as Bigfoot and the Bermuda Triangle. I remember watching re-runs of this show on the History Channel, and I don’t think the series would've been as creepy as it was (and, in turn, as appealing) were it not for the narration provided by Mr. Spock himself. There’s just something—unsettling—about how he delivered the show’s narration.

Obviously, Mr. Nimoy has performed many more roles than that, but those are the ones that I remember personally. Whether you remember the man as Mr. Spock, or from his many other acting roles, there is no denying that Mr. Nimoy was an irreplaceable actor, and his performances will be missed. Of all the performances out there in Hollywood, his were the most…human.